Five years of support from Fosterville Mine has helped turn the bush into an outdoor classroom for children at Axedale Kindergarten.
For the fifth year running, funding from Fosterville Mine has enabled Axedale Kindergarten to deliver its Bush Kinder program, giving children in the Kookaburra and Platypus groups two terms of outdoor learning, play and discovery.
Across the years, the bush has become a place of wonder, adventure and connection. Children find bones, search for bugs and insects, and marvel at the thousands of mushrooms and fungi growing throughout the area. They study the fungi closely, then return to the Fungi of the Bendigo region book to compare their discoveries with its photographs and descriptions.
Pieta Pritchard, Nominated Supervisor and Educational Leader at Axedale Kindergarten, said the program this year has created many opportunities for curiosity and discovery.
“We ventured towards the top of the block to inspect the sugar glider boxes, excited to see whether we might have any furry residents. Although the boxes were sadly unoccupied, the adventure provided plenty of opportunities for conversation, observation and wonder,” she said.
The program also offers physical challenges and rich imaginative play. Children climb trees, built huts and created fairy gardens, collaborating and using natural materials to bring their ideas to life. At other times, the pace slows as children sit quietly watching birds, looking up at the clouds and noticing the wind moving through the trees.
Pieta said those quieter experiences were just as important.
“These simple moments encouraged children to be present, observant and connected to the world around them.”
Bush Kinder has also become a way to welcome families into the environment. For the past three years, Axedale Kindergarten has marked Father’s Day with its Dads at Bush morning, inviting fathers and special father figures to join children for a Bush Kinder experience.
The event has quickly become a favourite among families, with participants exploring, climbing, building, creating and playing alongside their children.
“It gives families a firsthand view of the joy and learning Bush Kinder provides, while allowing them to share in a part of their children’s world they might not otherwise see.” Pieta said.
